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Wildflowers - Penstemon Seeds

Penstemon is also known as Beardtongue, and comes in many colors and sizes. The trumpet-shaped flowers are well liked by hummingbirds and other pollinators. I got an epic photo one time of a bumblebee that had curled up inside one of these tubular blooms for the night. We had a field of Large Flowered Beardtongue, and the blue gray waxy foliage was just as beautiful as the flowers themselves. It was amazing to watch them uncurl each spring, and put forth their blooms. Most Penstemons are perennials, but are not quite as slow as some. They are pretty drough resistant, and usually put on a pretty good flower show in their second growing season. There are also quite a few colors to pick from here, so check out all the options of reds, pinks, purples, whites, and blues.

John Mitchell, an 18th century American botanist, recorded the first botanical description of this plant genus; Carl Linnaeus included it in his landmark publication Species Plantarum in 1753. According to legend, Native Americans once used this plant as a versatile medicinal remedy. Its unusual common name comes from a fuzzy "tongue" in each open bloom, which gives a slight resemblance to a mouth and a tongue. The genus name "Penstemon" comes from Greek words for "five threads," referring to the stamens of each blossom.

John Mitchell, an 18th century American botanist, recorded the first botanical description of this plant genus; Carl Linnaeus included it in his landmark publication Species Plantarum in 1753. According to legend, Native Americans once used this plant as a versatile medicinal remedy. Its unusual common name comes from a fuzzy "tongue" in each open bloom, which gives a slight resemblance to a mouth and a tongue. The genus name "Penstemon" comes from Greek words for "five threads," referring to the stamens of each blossom. The species name "spectabilis" means "showy."

Starting at $2.50 USD

Penstemon is also known as Beardtongue, and comes in many colors and sizes. The trumpet-shaped flowers are well liked by hummingbirds and other pollinators. I got an epic photo one time of a bumblebee that had curled up inside one of these tubular blooms for the night. We had a field of Large Flowered Beardtongue, and the blue gray waxy foliage was just as beautiful as the flowers themselves. It was amazing to watch them uncurl each spring, and put forth their blooms. Most Penstemons are perennials, but are not quite as slow as some. They are pretty drough resistant, and usually put on a pretty good flower show in their second growing season. There are also quite a few colors to pick from here, so check out all the options of reds, pinks, purples, whites, and blues.